Skip to main content

How is Brainwashing Changing Your Mind?

According to Cambridge dictionary brainwashing is a method of altering your way of thinking. Is it good? I am beginning to think it is...sometimes. 


Portland, Oregon has joined The Joy Team sign company and is putting up billboards with a positive and, according to the news, effective way to influence people's state of mind. One sign here in PDX is located on Sandy Boulevard. It says, "You are freaking awesome!"  I love that one so much.

The Joy Team uses this one on their website.
Seeing this sign every morning on a commute to work would have to make you smile and feel good about yourself, even if you didn't know why.

I took this picture of a cigarette display as I was walking through the airport in Denmark this spring. It stopped me in my tracks. EVERY package across that country has a warning like this. The user is prevented from seeing a different massage no matter where they go. That my friends is the definition of a brainwash. In this case, I think it is a good use of the practice.
Incidentally I took this photo in Denmark airport this last spring.
I liked that their warning was bigger than the logo on the package. Not only do cigarettes kill, they damage your sperm, ruin your skin and kill the people around you. If you were a smoker, those warning have to make an impression.

Are there bad or even evil uses for brainwashing? You can bet your life. News networks get inside our heads. We need to be very careful to watch all the viewpoints. The advertising industry has figured it out I think. But sometimes I need to say "yes" to a campaign or sign. How about you?

Have a wonderful day.

b+
Labels:

Comments

  1. Jane GramlichSeptember 9, 2015 at 1:41 PM

    I tend to think of brainwashing as having an agrressively invasive edge to it; it's unmercifully repetitive and appears everywhere.
    I think your positive message examples are still uncommon, and usually gentler in tone. But it's an interesting question, especially when I consider the power of the advertising industry's subtlety.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara TorrisSeptember 9, 2015 at 2:29 PM

      You might ask "Are you afraid of brainwashing?" Yes I am. I think that the news channels are a prime example of the same news item telling a different story. When I saw a conservative pole saying that 90% of the people approve of public gun wearing I was dismayed. I don't think any statistical report could get 90% in favor of anything. I would be just a suspicious of the a pole that reveal the opposite. But, if brainwashing of a type is being used for viewers that ONLY see that new station, it is entirely possible.

      Delete
  2. Geo.September 9, 2015 at 5:02 PM

    Excellent closing question, "But sometimes I need to say "yes" to a campaign or sign. How about you?"
    I especially like campaigns that remind people that each human is exceptional. That is not brainwashing, nor is it a movement in the manipulative sense. I do appreciate the good that comes from campaigns and the policy changes they make in government by discussion but, too often, campaigns accelerate movements and all movements go too far. I've seen movements employ brainwashing to achieve their ill-imagined quotas. It is heartbreaking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anita IrlenSeptember 10, 2015 at 6:55 AM

    I like the "brainwashing" happening above, but I can't believe the definition of brainwashing is that simple! I agree with others that brainwashing seems more invasive and aggressive. Good stuff to think about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara TorrisSeptember 10, 2015 at 11:49 AM

      You are very right...this is a simplification to be sure. But you can squint your eyes and see the connection. :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Leave your thoughts...I am interested.

Popular posts from this blog

Five Little Ducks...stories played out!

The children's song about the little ducks leaving the nest to fly away has always been one of my favorites.  Every mother has seen their babies fly away and rejoiced. Life comes full circle. Animals live that same cycle. Babies grow up. Birds leave the nest. Life goes on. So when the three ducks show up every year near my patio I am not surprised. But I am puzzled that it always seems to be the same three. Something just doesn't seem right. It appears the one did not fly away at all. Five little ducks Went out to play Over the hills and far away. The mommy duck went "quack, quack quack," Four little ducks came swimming back... And then Three Two and One. A drake, a female duck (a hen) and a not quite a drake but still not a hen gather here on the 5th green of the golf course. She leads and the other two follow along obediently. They eat, sleep, and guard each other. Each and every day this time of year they come.  I have not named them. Jinxing them would be very pos...
2 comments
Read more

How to be a Snowbird in 2024

Early years in RV resort! Our motor home is parked next to our  first Park Model When it begins to cool in the evenings and the geese fly in formation, my mind turns to Arizona. Yearning for the desert air and vibrant blue sky is compel me to fly away. I do it every year and will as long as I am  allowed. Townhome near Tucson's Pantano Wash and bike trail. We started this way of life when we retired. First with a fifth-wheel trailer, later with a motor home, and finally in something permanent that evolved over the years.  First, it was a park model in an RV Resort, then a townhouse close to walking trails, and finally into a home on a small golf course.  Congress Hotel from window of near by hotel. Each time we moved, we upscaled and increased our monetary wealth. That is the way our mind works. It is as though we couldn't just have fun without working a lot. We painted and planted flowers and haunted thrift stores to find just the right furniture. We were always hav...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to be a 12 Month Snow Bird

Vacation Rental in Mexico I live around snowbirds 6 months of the year. I have heard those people say that they all want to live the "snowbird" lifestyle when they go home. But it just is not possible. They are isolated and cold. Social activities with friends and beautiful weather are greatly missed when they return to the realities of their "real" life. One couple I visited with lately returned to Florida this morning where they own a home. The woman is a nurse and works in the summer. They are not going home until May this year. It is too cold in Michigan in the spring so they are hoping to extend their good weather season by simply staying away. Besides that they love their Florida lifestyle a lot. Last week I visited with a woman that lives the snowbird lifestyle year around. No going home to the Midwest in the spring. They essentially vacation 12 month out of the year. And I thought their solution for avoiding unpleasant weather and keeping their lifestyle in...
35 comments
Read more